a love letter.

At the end of every school year I find that I get a little sad. As a teacher, I get super attached to my students. They are like an extended family to me. On the first day of school I always tell them that we are a family and that we are stuck together. They may roll their eyes at me but my students know that our classroom is a safe, fun, creative, and crazy environment. We support each other, make each other laugh, and even cry together sometimes. Here is a sprinkling of my kiddos....

I call this group the asian invasion. They are my 7th graders that I have had the honor of teaching for the past two years. I love them so much. Hieu and Kenny just may be the smartest boys I have ever taught. Hieu is ever the overachiever and cannot even stand being on vacation because he feels that he always has to be learning. Kenny is so silly one second, and the next he is downright serious. Naufal literally races me to class everyday. This class meets after lunch and Naufal always finds me in the teacher's lounge to walk me to class except he likes to race me. He wins everyday. (wink, wink) Jackie is so inquisitive. He loves to ask questions. Josh just likes to giggle. My girls are so sweet. Sarah has been here two years, yet speaks perfect English and her video blogs are hilarious. Kaitlin and Josie are the cutest little girlfriends and they have really blossomed over the past two years. They are amazing writers. Samantha is the tall beauty that is so shy but extremely deep. She once wrote an essay that made me speechless. The asian invasion is amazing-I don't know what I will do when they are 8th graders.

Cassandra is so passionate. This year has been extremely difficult for her as her mother was murdered. It was on the news and made big headlines. She was so resilient through it all. This is a young lady who writes brilliant poetry and recites it with tears streaming down her eyes. I have really pushed Cassandra this year because I believe in her potential.

Antonia is my little Taylor Swift! She is amazing. This year at our class holiday party she brought her guitar and serenaded us the whole time. It was outstanding. She started out the year barely speaking, and now she is singing, and making the class laugh. Antonia is a 4.0 student that is serious, but has such a playful side.

Max is amazing!!! I can talk books with this kid, movies, video games, and life. He is mature beyond his years, and I can only hope that my little Noah would be as awesome as Max. This kid got me into The Hunger Game series and he continually challenges me to be a better teacher. He is a natural leader, has integrity, and his laugh is awesome.

Jacqueline is my little sweetheart. Every morning she comes in and says, " Good Morning Mrs. Childress". Her little face makes me melt. On top of that she still makes me crafts, and draws me pictures at an age in middle school where other kids think that is nerdy. Her gentle spirit is a welcome breath of fresh air in a crazy silly boy dominated class.

Karamel is my creative inspiration! This girl comes to school everyday with some kind of outfit or accessory that she has made. I am jealous of her style, her chill attitude, and brilliance. She is a friend to everyone and not afraid to be original.

OMG! Will and Michael. These two are mischievious, and always in trouble. They get in trouble with their parents, the teachers, the admin, just about any adult-yet they are hilarious and I love them. They are true buddies. They beg me to sit together all the time. They have taught me that true friends really stick together.